Protest at Trafalgar Square on Saturday 28th May at 2 pm
chiara lauvergnac | 27.05.2005 13:01
against the human rights violations committed by UK Immigration in forcibly deporting people against their will through beatings and intimidation
On Tuesday 17th of May at 2.30 in the morning, 40 police officers broke down the door of the home of Daimi and Jale Kama, Kurdish asylum seekers from Turkey, and arrested them and their three children, Yucel, 8, Selin, 4, and Can, 1.
According to neighbours, Jale and Daimi reached for their children but where not allowed to comfort them. The children watched in horror as both their parents were beaten and handcuffed. The neighbours were too terrified to offer any help. This family had been here for more than 6 years and for the children this was the only country they had ever known or remembered.
By 7.30 the same morning – before their solicitor’s office had opened – the family had been deported. Denied the opportunity to contact their solicitor or their friends and family, the Kamas were not even allowed to collect their possessions. When Daimi’s sister arrived at the scene she was not even given the chance to say goodbye.
These people were neither dangerous terrorists nor vicious criminals, they were Kurdish refugees. Without a country of their own, they were treated as foreigners even in the country they were born in.
According to the Dublin Convention, a host country should either remove refugees within 18 months of their asylum petition or accept responsibility for them. The authorities acted illegally in this case – if notified, their solicitor would have been able to prevent the family’s removal.
We know of other recent removals from the Kurdish community and other communities. This is just one of the cases we are informed of because it happened to people close to us, however, we cannot know the extent of this phenomenon throughout the country. How many refugees are being removed in this way every day?
We are asking for your help to put a stop to this brutal violation of human rights now, before more children become victims. STAR, the Student Action for Refugees and a number of refugee communities are holding a
Protest at Trafalgar Square
On Saturday 28th May at 2 pm
to be followed by further protests outside the Home Office in the coming days.
As Refugee Week approaches (20th – 26th June), your support in our protest is vital because it is important for the government to know that the residents of this country, whether British or otherwise, will not tolerate such actions. For further information e-mail us on
hekate_pap@yahoo.co.uk.
According to neighbours, Jale and Daimi reached for their children but where not allowed to comfort them. The children watched in horror as both their parents were beaten and handcuffed. The neighbours were too terrified to offer any help. This family had been here for more than 6 years and for the children this was the only country they had ever known or remembered.
By 7.30 the same morning – before their solicitor’s office had opened – the family had been deported. Denied the opportunity to contact their solicitor or their friends and family, the Kamas were not even allowed to collect their possessions. When Daimi’s sister arrived at the scene she was not even given the chance to say goodbye.
These people were neither dangerous terrorists nor vicious criminals, they were Kurdish refugees. Without a country of their own, they were treated as foreigners even in the country they were born in.
According to the Dublin Convention, a host country should either remove refugees within 18 months of their asylum petition or accept responsibility for them. The authorities acted illegally in this case – if notified, their solicitor would have been able to prevent the family’s removal.
We know of other recent removals from the Kurdish community and other communities. This is just one of the cases we are informed of because it happened to people close to us, however, we cannot know the extent of this phenomenon throughout the country. How many refugees are being removed in this way every day?
We are asking for your help to put a stop to this brutal violation of human rights now, before more children become victims. STAR, the Student Action for Refugees and a number of refugee communities are holding a
Protest at Trafalgar Square
On Saturday 28th May at 2 pm
to be followed by further protests outside the Home Office in the coming days.
As Refugee Week approaches (20th – 26th June), your support in our protest is vital because it is important for the government to know that the residents of this country, whether British or otherwise, will not tolerate such actions. For further information e-mail us on
hekate_pap@yahoo.co.uk.
chiara lauvergnac
Comments
Hide the following 3 comments
What
27.05.2005 16:00
I'm confused how can they be asylum seekers from Turkey ?
Makes no sense
Because Kurds live in part of Turkey
28.05.2005 03:05
Kurds live in southeastern Turkey, part of Syria, northern
Iraq, and northwest Iran. Kurds have no nation-state and
are divided by several nation-states' borders. Just goes to
show the irrational nature of nationalism and borders.
Gus
e-mail:
gusl36@hotmail.com
Re: confused
28.05.2005 21:04
They've had their languaged banned, their villages burnt down and suffered all manner of repression for refusing to be asimilated. Turkey has for a long time denied the existence of a Kurdish race. They say there are people called "Mountain Turks". Everyone in Turkey is supposed to be a Turk. The government doesn't like people who'd rather consider themselves Kurds and carry on speaking the Kurdish language and practising Kurdish traditions.
I think Turkey may have toned down its repression in recent years, in an attempt to meet the human rights requirements for joining the EU. Not sure what this has meant in practice. I imagine they are still very much discriminated against.
.